An Incredibly Happy Day At Myth Live For Sad Summer Fest

The second Sad Summer Fest was announced, I knew I had to attend. I grew up a child of MySpace, Warped Tour, and Hot Topic. Ever since I can remember, I’ve had a countdown or two to my next show. As I’ve gotten older, the countdowns have gotten a lot shorter (and sometimes stopped happening altogether,) but deep down I’m still the same girl.

Stand Atlantic

I wasn’t sure what to expect for a day-long festival at The Myth. I’d only ever headed to the hottest suburban venue for nighttime shows, quick in-and-out trips, and then back home to Minneapolis. As I pulled up, I was definitely taken aback in a great way. The side area was decorated with fake grass and some photo backdrops- the crowd favorite seemed to be “your heart is black and mine is gold,” closely followed by “we will never be this young again,” both on solid, bubble gum pink backgrounds.

Mom Jeans

As impressed as I was with the outdoor decor, I made my way inside pretty quickly. Since the day was full of music, I wanted to catch as much of it as I could. Inside, I was reminded quickly of how long ago my Warped Tour days were when I saw how young the crowd was. It made sense that a weekday, daytime show would bring out a younger scene (not everyone is as lucky as I am when taking time off of work,) but I was surprised that more adults hadn’t come to see The Maine, The Wonder Years, or any of the other impressive throwbacks.

The Wonder Years

Seeing new bands was always one of my favorite things to do growing up. Mom Jeans, Just Friends, Stand Atlantic, and Ashland were all new to me… and all made it to my Spotify searches later that night. That’s what reminded me of Warped Tour the most all day… new bands coming into my radar. It was also really awesome to see those bands’ members out and about after their sets to meet fans and sign things. There’s nothing like seeing a line of happy music lovers waiting to meet someone they look up to.

The Maine

Finally, it was time for the four headliners. The venue had definitely filled up, and the age range of attendees had definitely evened out a little bit more. The next few hours felt like a car ride where you decide to play all your favorite songs from back in the day and sing along as loudly as you can… except live and with tons of strangers.

State Champs

Everyone played the classics, which is definitely what everyone was deep down looking for. There were a few newer songs added in too, which, once again, felt good. One very obvious favorite crowd moment of the night was Mayday Parade covering The Killers’ “Mr. Brightside,” which brought on the biggest sing along of the night.

I left the venue (after buying some very sweet merch, of course) feeling much less tired than I used to after a long day of Warped Tour… but pretty much just as satisfied! There will never be any feeling quite like spending the day around happy people singing sad songs… and I hope there are always events like Sad Summer Fest to make that happen.

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